Only the gentle hand on Hawke's shoulder pulled him out of his worry, and he jerked around to look at Ivy. Jumpsuit... "Right. Sorry." He'd almost forgotten about the bundle of cloth, pressed to his side. This he returned to Ivy, turning away to allow her some privacy while she pulled it back on.
Beside Specter, Novak was trying to come up with a plan, but no ideas were coming to mind. The combined effort of the escape and the jumps they'd done were beginning to take a toll on them, and they could feel their energy sapping slowly, a migraine beginning to take hold in their head.
"Something isn't good enough," they countered Specter. "We should be trying to find some signs of other people, then we could at least hide. Otherwise we'll be walking around in this forest until we're caught." They paused, and then it came to them. "A road. What we need is a road. Then we'll be able to follow it to people."
"We'll take whatever we can find," Hawke said grimly as he hauled Vlad upright, adjusting to support his weight. He didn't want to say so, but at this point it was really up to Specter to get them out of there, being the only person who could read the environment enough to find them a way to safety. But pointing it out would just put undue stress on the boy.
As they walked along, as quickly as they could given Vlad's injuries, Hawke couldn't help the guilt that spread through his system. There were so many moments where he had dropped the ball, focusing only on surviving in the moment. If only he had tried to figure the facility out sooner. If only he had worked harder to bring everyone together to work out a plan. Now they were all soaked, lost, and growing tired, and all they could do was trudge forward or face recapture.
The group moved through the trees in silence for a while, Hanne drifting along behind them. Now that the initial excitement of the escape was over, she was beginning to come to terms with what she had done, especially to that guard. What had she done, exactly? She wasn't thinking clearly when it happened, just let her emotions bubble up and take over; apparently she was capable of things she didn't know she could do.
"What are you thinking about?" Novak's voice pulled Hanne out of her reverie, and she looked up at them, speechless for a moment. "Um, just... the, this whole thing..."
Novak nodded, misunderstanding Hanne's brooding. "You're not a burden, you know. I mean, I'm sure Vlad's grateful that you came along, but you're part of us. You deserve to be free, too."
She frowned. It wasn't a concern occupying her at the moment, but it was strange to hear affirmation like that. She was well aware of how some of the others thought she was a dead weight, complacently happy in her cell. Novak had never really seemed to share Vlad's vitriol, but they had never been particularly approving either.
She would have said as much, but at that moment, up ahead, Specter called back "I see a clearing," and Novak hurried up front to look, leaving Hanne alone.
Specter reached the clearing first, but Novak was close behind, almost running full tilt into the fence, their earlier exhaustion all but forgotten. This was better than a road, so much better. Their fears of being condemend to wander forever in search of civilisation vanished as they looked upon the city in awe, the lights reflected in their eyes. There had never been anything like this before.
Hawke could sense Vlad and Ivy getting excited too, although he tried to temper himself. He glanced around to make sure they hadn't been followed; the coast seemed clear. "Alright, we'll go through. Be careful. Take Novak first, then Vlad." At least that way Vlad would get out first, and have someone waiting on the other side for him, plus Ivy could catch a break from supporting him. It couldn't have been that easy, given Vlad's weight as the most muscular of the group.
Novak went through obediently, waiting to help support Vlad as he passed with Specter through the fence, turning them both so they could stare at in the city's direction until the others were through. "The lights are crazy, huh? I didn't think they would look like this. Like if I swallowed all this brightness I could float away." It didn't make sense. But it was all they could say.
Hanne followed after Vlad, and Hawke motioned Ivy forward. "Ladies first." He was eager to get back to Vlad, certain in the back of his mind that if he looked away for too long something bad would happen; he would get injured again, he would start coughing blood and never stop, he would just vanish... But then the sign on the fence caught his attention, and it puzzled him. What was S.A.A.? Surely it had to be them... but what did it mean? "Specter," he gestured at the sign, "do you know what this means? Have you ever read about it?"
Novak turned, glaring disdainfully at the fence. "Who gives a damn? We're out now, and it's going to stay that way. I'm not going back in there now that I'm out here. The only way they'll get me in that building is carrying my corpse through the front doors."
Hawke winced. It was a poor choice of words. "Alright. Nobody's dying just yet. Our priority right now is finding clothes, then somewhere to rest. We made it this far, but we're not out of the woods just yet." He glanced over his shoulder at the trees. "...Figuratively. They're not going to give up that easily, and we probably look really suspicious. We're going to need to keep a low profile for now." Easier said than done. Other things like food and money—whatever passed as currency here—wouldn't just fall into their lap, but first above all was shelter. They couldn't be sitting ducks out in the open, covered in blood.
Once Vlad was repositioned between Hawke and Ivy they set off towards the city, moving forward in silence. No one passed them as they inched closer to the lights, Hawke's feet aching with every step. Finally, they were standing on the edge of the city, pressed up against the warehouses that lined its borders. Storage space... and one of them might store clothes. Novak, sensing Hawke's tiredness, tried to take charge, as jumbled as their mind felt. "Specter, you take that row, and I'll go this way. See what you can find. Something here has got to be useful. The rest of you just... just sit here and wait. Hawke, give us a shout if anyone comes." They tapped their temple meaningfully, and started off down a row of warehouses, determined to pull enough juice together to make a few more portals.
Hawke helped Vlad sit down, giving him a once over. He didn't look quite the worse for their trip, but Hawke was concerned all the same. It wouldn't do them any good to stay on their feet for too long, yet he couldn't sit still. After a moment, he pulled Ivy aside. "Will you keep an eye on them? I'm going to have a look around, make sure that no one's coming." He set off at a slow walk, keeping his mind open to any foreign presences.
The first few warehouses didn't yield any good results. They were certainly large, but often packed with things Novak didn't recognise; some had huge machines, others shelves upon shelves of wrapped boxes. Eventually they found one stocked with racks, clothes in plastic bags hung on them. Over half the warehouse was packed with such racks, and surely something would fit them. Novak hurried back to the group, waving them over. "I found clothes, come have a look!"